A former soldier is suing the Ministry of Defence (MoD) after claiming he caught the debilitating infection Q fever while dodging Taliban bullets in Helmand province, in the first case of its kind.
The former infantryman says he contracted the bacterial infection during a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Wayne Bass, 34, was medically discharged from the Army in June 2012 suffering Q fever and chronic fatigue symptoms. He says his life has been ruined by the Army’s failure to provide antibiotics which would have protected him from the disease.
In 2011 Mr Bass was serving as a private in 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment. His platoon was responsible for reconnaissance and protecting other forces in a part of Helmand Province known for its heavy Taliban presence.
It is there that he believes he contracted Q fever, an infection caused by bacteria most commonly found in cattle, sheep, and goats.
He said: “To avoid enemy fire I was constantly having to dive into ditches on the ground where farm animals had been, there were animals all over the place”.
Mr Bass, from Redditch, Worcestershire, is testing the MoD’s duty to protect troops against Q fever claiming he should have been given antibiotics by the Army.
After experiencing flu-like symptoms Mr Bass was treated with intravenous antibiotics. Following periods in hospital and at the MoD’s Headley Court rehabilitation centre in Surrey, he was diagnosed with Q fever chronic fatigue syndrome.
“On some days I’m OK, I can walk a few hundred metres,” he said.
“But often I get breathless, have aches and pains all over my body for which I have to take very powerful painkillers.
“The nerve pain in my lower back and legs means that my back can lock up and I’m immobile.”
Justin Glenister of Hilary Meredith Solicitors, representing Mr Bass, said: “This is the first case in which the question will be asked whether the MoD had a duty to protect soldiers against this known risk of Q fever, which we say was a preventable risk, and what steps it ought to have taken to protect them. There are other similar cases being prepared.”
The five-day trial, which started on Monday at the Central London County Court, will examine the extent of any duty owed by the army to Mr Bass in relation to Q fever, and whether that duty was breached.
Q fever is an infection caused by bacteria found in cattle, sheep, and goats around the world. Humans typically get Q fever when they breathe in dust contaminated by the faeces of infected farm animals.
The NHS says the bacterial infection is usually harmless, but that it can cause serious problems in some people.
Normally, the fever is successfully treated with antibiotics and it is rare for it to develop into chronic fatigue syndrome.
The disease may cause mild symptoms similar to the flu. However, many people have no symptoms at all. Mild forms of the disease may clear up in a few weeks without any treatment.
The MOD follows the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which does not recommend vaccination for Q fever.
The Australian government has cleared Q-VAX, a Q fever vaccine, for issue, but it is not currently licensed for use in the UK.
An MOD spokesperson said: “As legal proceedings are ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment.”